Living Fearlessly
by As Silent As The Shadows
Summary: Brooklyn has been spending a lot of time with Tala. What happens when Tala asks him to move in with the Russians? Will they remain just friends or become something more? Main: TalaxBrooklyn KaixRei SpencerxRobert BryanxJohnny Lesser Pairings inside
1. Chapter 1

Living Fearlessly

By: As Silent As The Shadows

Rating: T for language

Warnings: Language and Yaoi

Pairings: Brooklyn/Tala, Kai/Rei

Authors Note: This started out as a Christmas one shot about cooking, and it turned out to be a multi chaptered story not about cooking…

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It was a disaster. And no, it wasn't a tornado, hurricane, or any other kind of natural disaster. It was a cooking disaster. They hadn't even started preparing dinner and things were already starting to go wrong.

Brooklyn sighed as he watched the chaotic teens. Every year since Rei had moved in with the Russians, (he guessed it had something to do with Kai. He hadn't confirmed it yet but their looks were enough evidence to satisfy him,) Tala and Rei had joined forces and convinced the two more stoic members and Ian to throw a Christmas party.

Things followed a pattern on Christmas Eve, and at this point Brooklyn was able to guess their every move. It would start out peacefully with Rei commanding the others, (not including Brooklyn,) to cook. As it got closer to eight o'clock, the start of the party, Rei would slowly start to get more stressed by the minute. Kai, seeing this, would take Rei, no matter how much he protested, out for ice cream to calm his nerves. This left Tala, Ian, and Bryan in the kitchen and nothing good could come from it.

When Kai and Rei returned they would have a short conversation with Brooklyn where they would proceed to ask him how the three Russians had behaved. He would reply simply with "as usual." They then would go into the kitchen, yell at the three, and then start cleaning the mess they had made in their absence. Things ran relatively smoothly after that up until 7:30 when the Russians would abandon the kitchen, drag Brooklyn up stairs, and beautify themselves to be presentable at the party.

If you're wondering why Brooklyn is over at the Russians mansion, join the club. He's wondering the same thing. It happened every year, and he didn't know why. He doesn't even know how he became friends with them. He figured it had something to do with Tala suddenly becoming attached to him, but he didn't know for sure. In fact, he doesn't know anything for sure anymore.

Brooklyn looked up as he heard a noise he did not expect; the sound of bones cracking. He walked cautiously towards the kitchen, fearful for what he might find.

"What happened," he stated calmly knowing full well that Kai was about to explode.

"What does it look like to you," Kai growled protectively, "Rei just broke his fucking arm trying to make this fuckingChristmas party fucking perfect! I hope you're fucking happy now."

Brooklyn rolled his eyes at how protective Kai could be sometimes. "I'm guessing you're going to the hospital."

"Of course we're going to the bloody hospital! Do you see a doctor around here?"

Brooklyn sighed; he often wondered what went through Kai's head if this is what happened when he exploded. It wasn't a pretty thought.

"Wait," everyone's eyes turned to the hurt neko-jinn, "I can't go to the hospital; I have to finish dinner."

Kai was about to answer, but Brooklyn spoke before him thinking that it would be more appropriate for the calmer one to answer, "Don't worry Rei, we can handle things here."

Rei glanced at him nervously, "But Brooklyn, you can't cook."

Brooklyn groaned this was very true. He couldn't cook, at least he couldn't the last time he had tried, but that was a long time ago. He smiled showing his flawless white teeth, "I'll figure something out. Now go. The sooner you leave the sooner you can come back."

Rei nodded and left for the hospital with Kai.

"So," Tala began with an evil gleam in his eye, "Are you actually going to try and pull this party off or would you rather do something else with the _hours_ before the party begins?"

Brooklyn merely rolled his eyes at Tala's antics as he was used to them by now, "Do you really want to face Kai when he gets back and finds that Rei's party is ruined?"

Everyone in the room grimaced at the thought. Tala, however, was not only frightened by this thought, but encouraged. Brooklyn hadn't out right refused him. He just didn't want to get yelled at by Kai, (although he doubted Brooklyn would do anything anyway). Tala couldn't blame him there. Ever since Rei had moved in with them, Kai had become more…aggressive. He started arguing and becoming protective over Rei, and they hadn't even started dating yet!

Tala grinned trying to get more information out of the ginger-haired blader, "Tonight then?"

Brooklyn smiled slightly and shook his head no causing Tala to rejoice. He had smiled! Tala sighed as he began to stir the batter once more. Brooklyn had been on his mind a lot lately and he didn't know why. The boy had unknowingly bewitched him body and soul with every little movement he made.

Tala hadn't made his move yet though, he, like Kai, cared so much about this one person that he was afraid to ruin the friendship he had worked so hard to make.

"Tala," Brooklyn uttered upon seeing the red-head space out, "Are you okay?"

Tala shook his head to rid himself of these thoughts and smiled, "I'm fine." He thought for a moment before speaking again, "Are you going to stay the night?"

Brooklyn smiled sheepishly, "I have to go home sometime Tala. I can't exactly wear two outfits for the rest of my life." He had spent the night lat night helping Rei decorate for the party. He had only brought one extra outfit giving him two in total, and he really didn't want to wear anything of Tala's, who was the only one in the house that shared his size.

Tala groaned in his mind, there were so many things he could say, but he held himself back, for he didn't want to push his chances for what he had planned for tonight. And no, it wasn't anything perverted, at least not yet anyway.

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Brooklyn sighed as he read the directions on the box of cake mix. He hoped this worked; he hadn't tried cooking for a long time. In fact, he was almost afraid to bake, for he had burnt toast last time he tried to make anything.

He shook his head trying to rid himself of these thoughts. He had to think positively, thinking negative thoughts would only make him worse. He had to make this cake good for Rei. Brooklyn had to make Rei feel better; he had to make him stop worrying.

Brooklyn carefully started to follow the directions word for word, reading it over twice to make sure he didn't get anything wrong. He then began to add all of the ingredients making sure to stir them thoroughly before gently placing the pan into the oven. He set the timer and then went on to start on another dish.

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Brooklyn smiled nervously as the timer went off on the oven. He hoped that the cake wasn't too bad. He grimaced as he took it out of the small space; it was ugly!

"Uh…Tala," he began unsure what to do, "We have a problem."

Tala walked over nervously not knowing what to expect, "What is it Brooklyn?"

"My cake's ugly," Brooklyn's eyes began to shine with tears.

Tala's eyes widened at the unbelievably cute seen, "Well," he thought for a moment trying to cheer the blader up, "How does it taste?"

"What?"

"How does it taste," upon seeing Brooklyn's confused look he explained further, "It doesn't matter how it looks as long as it tastes good."

They both tore off a piece of the cake and their eyes widened at the taste. It was really good!

"Bryan, Ian, Spencer," Tala shouted, "Get over here and taste this cake!"

The three Russians walked over and tasted the cake nervously not knowing what Tala was planning. They smiled upon tasting the delicious cake.

"Well Brooklyn," Spencer said astonished, "Apparently you can cook."

Ian jumped up and down surprised, "This is better than Rei's!"

Bryan glared at Ian, "You better not tell Kai that."

They all grimaced at the thought.

"All hail Brooklyn, King of baking," Tala began to bow to Brooklyn.

Brooklyn smiled; the red-head was starting to grow on him.

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Sorry it's so short. The next chapters will probably be much longer. I hope you like it. Feedback would be appreciated. R&R Oh and the sequel to Max's mom should be up soon.


	2. Author's Note!

I am so sorry, I haven't been able to update because I haven't had time

I am so sorry, I haven't been able to update because I haven't had time! Between my dad being in the hospital, going to Europe and being dragged down to North Carolina, I completely forgot about this story! I've also lost all inspiration at the moment due to school and family issues, but hopefully it'll return soon. Until then, I won't be able to update.

Sorry

ASATS


	3. Chapter 2

Living Fearlessly

Living Fearlessly

By: As Silent As The Shadows

Rating: T for language

Warnings: Language and Yaoi

Pairings: Brooklyn/Tala, Kai/Rei, Spencer/Robert, Bryan/Johnny, Lee/Michael, Ian/Kevin, Enrique/Oliver

Authors Note: …So I'm not dead. I'm sorry I haven't updated for like…two years. -- I had family issues and was really busy with school. Anyways, I hope you like the chapter!

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Kai sighed as he glanced at Rei. They were currently in the emergency room along with all the other careless cookers. Not that Rei was careless, but using his arm to try and split an ice block was not one of his best ideas.

"Don't worry Rei," Kai said trying to calm the boy next to him, "Getting a cast doesn't hurt nearly as much as it sounds."

"That's not what I'm worried about." Kai looked at the boy strangely, "What if the party is ruined? All that work just to be ruined by our idiotic friends."

Kai smiled inwardly at Rei's worries, it was just so…cute. "You have nothing to worry about Rei. Remember, Brooklyn is there. He won't let anything go wrong. He might not be the best cook, but he'll keep the others out of trouble."

"But Kaaaai," Rei persisted, "Brooklyn REALLY can't cook!"

"He's smart enough to know not to cook. He's probably just ordering Tala around."

Rei sighed trying to ease the pain in his arm, "I guess you're right. Brooklyn's not that stupid…"

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"Brooklyn are you done with the food yet?" Tala yelled from the living room.

"Almost," Brooklyn sighed; after they had tasted his cake, he had somehow gotten roped into cooking everything else.

"Well you better hurry up! We have to get ready for the party," Tala yelled exasperated. Brooklyn had become a perfectionist about the food and it was starting to take up his precious 'makeover' time.

"Okay, okay I'm coming."

Bryan raised an eyebrow talking to Spencer under his breath, "You know I always figured that Tala would be uke, but now, I'm not so sure."

Spencer smiled, for he was thinking the exact same thing.

"Finally," Tala said relived, "Now everyone go upstairs so that I can make you over!"

Spencer sighed, as much as he hated to admit it, Tala really did do a good job of making them all look great, but he wasn't sure it was worth everything they had to go through.

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Kai's eyes widened when he walked into the mansion. It was beautiful. There were decorations everywhere, however, it wasn't overbearing. It was perfectly balanced.

"What happened here?" Rei asked in awe; whoever had done this was definitely coming over next year.

"Maybe it was Brooklyn," Kai tried to think of a logical answer.

"No it couldn't have been Brooklyn." Kai raised an eyebrow causing Rei to explain, "He's good, but not this good. This is like, a professional decorators work. It's better than anything I could do."

"So then, who did it?"

"No idea, but I guess we'll just have to ask Brooklyn."

Kai nodded; they entered the dining room in search of the aforementioned blader. However, instead of finding the one they desired to question, they came upon a large crowd surrounding the buffet table.

Rei's eyes widened, "You don't think…"

"Brooklyn," Kai whispered under his breath. Oh that boy was going to pay for ruining the party.

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The door was opened abruptly startling everyone in the room. Tala looked up in order to yell at whoever dared to interrupt his transformations. His eyes widened as he saw a black blur run towards Brooklyn.

The aforementioned blader was nearly knocked over by the force of the hug he was given. He looked down to see Rei gripping him tightly with his good arm.

"Rei?"

"Brooklyn, you're a genius. That food is delicious. When did you ever learn to cook?" Rei smiled up at him, ignoring the glares he was getting from Kai.

Brooklyn, however, was well aware of the looks he was getting from Kai. He quickly released himself from Rei's death-grip, causing more than one blader to rejoice, silently.

"Oh, it was probably just beginners luck. It's no big deal, Rei, really." Brooklyn smiled.

Kai stepped out of the doorway and into the room. He glanced around and saw everyone in full out 'Tala' mode. No one was without eyeliner or hair gel.

"So," he began curiously, although he would never show it, "If Brooklyn was cooking, who changed the decorations."

Tala raised an eyebrow at the blader's sudden curiosity, but nonetheless pointed to the mastermind of the decorations.

Rei gasped as he learned that _Bryan_ of all people was the one who could out decorate him. Tala grinned knowing that Bryan would have to fess up about his very interesting past.

The falcon glared at Tala, but gave in anyways; he knew that Rei would never rest until he found out the story. He grumbled something inaudibly under his breath, signaling Spencer to tell the story.

Spencer sighed, wondering why he was always the one who had to tell the stories; it wasn't like he was a preschool teacher.

Nevertheless he explained Bryan's mysterious talent, "Boris liked to torture everyone in his own special way. He liked to personalize our pain so that we couldn't band together in order to over throw him.

Usually, our torment was caused by physical pain; however, in Bryan's case things were very different. He was too tough for the usual anguish. In fact, he seemed to _enjoy_ being in agony; Boris decided to come up with a new punishment for our _cute, little, Bryan_."

Spencer grinned, knowing that Bryan was going to kill him later, but really, it was well worth it in order to see Rei and Brooklyn's faces.

"Bryan had a huge dislike for anything pink or pretty, and Boris picked up on this fear. So…he made Bryan decorate his bedroom, and really, I swear that man had a fetish for ruffles."

Tala decided to chime in and finish the story, "And that's how our little Bryan turned into the fruit he is today."

Bryan glared at Tala, muttering under his breath about hypocrites, while Rei exploded with happiness; he now had someone he could talk to about his decorating issues! He revved up to pummel Bryan with a hug, but was stopped by Kai, who was glaring daggers at the falcon.

Brooklyn, seeing the tension in the room, decided to change the topic.

"So, uh," he glanced around the room trying to find a conversation of interest, "Rei, when are you and Kai going to get together?"

Rei blushed cutely, yet didn't seem to mind the question. Kai, however, having already been pushed to his limit, looked ready to kill Brooklyn.

Luckily, Tala jumped in and saved the day, shaking his head at the object of his affections' actions, "What Brooklyn means is that you two would just look wonderful as…," he glanced around the room, his eyes landing on a nearby magazine, "Professional male models. Have you ever thought about abandoning your beyblading careers to pursue modeling?"

Kai raised an eyebrow, but was sufficiently distracted, "Have you ever thought about modeling, Tala?"

The aforementioned teen grinned, loving the attention, "But Kai, don't you remember that one time in Moscow…?" (1)

The Russians all blanched at the memory, none wanting to remember that horrible day.

Brooklyn looked at Tala curiously, feeling left out, "Tala, what happened in Moscow?"

Spencer and Kai's eyes widened, while Bryan quickly covered Tala's mouth with his hands, preventing him from speaking. "Never mind what happened, shouldn't we be greeting our guests?"

Rei's eyes bulged out of his head; he was being a horrible host, neglecting his guests. He sprinted out the door with Kai following.

The others merely shook their heads and began to follow them downstairs.

Before Tala could leave the room, Brooklyn grabbed his arm and mumbled in his ear, "Thanks," before walking down the stairs.

Tala smiled; he could tell it was going to be a wonderful night.

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Tala had always loved this part of the night, the part where they would make their entrances and blind people with their beauty. He was only disappointed that they didn't have someone to announce them, like he had seen them do in the movies.

They walked down the stairs and were greeted by the many guests in attendance. The group split up as usual with Rei wandering off with his old team; Kai in pursuit. Spencer would visit the Majestics, having become rather good friends with the German man. Bryan would follow Spencer, having set his sights on Johnny.

Brooklyn smiled, standing next to Tala, "Look's like some things never change."

"Well, I don't know about that…Bryan seems to be winning Johnny over."

Brooklyn glanced at the two and realized that Tala was right. Bryan had pulled the redhead down onto his lap, glaring at everyone who dared to give them a questioning glance.

Tala snorted, "Leave it to Bryan to make the hot-tempered one submit."

Brooklyn smiled, happy for his friend. He continued to stand next to the Tala in a comfortable silence, content to look around the room.

He spotted Robert with his arm around Spencer, the two looking more than pleased to be together.

Enrique and Oliver were flirting with each other as usual, neither making any bold moves.

He moved his gaze towards the other side of the room, where Lee was blatantly ignoring Rei in order to gaze longingly towards Michael.

Ian was shamelessly groping his boyfriend, Kevin, not caring if anyone was watching.

He glanced towards Kai, who was standing next to Rei, pouting because he was being ignored.

Honestly, Brooklyn could never figure out which one would be dominant in that relationship. If they ever get together, that is.

"Oh they will."

"Did I say that out loud?" Brooklyn wondered curiously.

"No," Tala smiled, "I could just tell what you were thinking."

Brooklyn chuckled and continued people-watching. These kinds of comments used to bother him; he didn't like having someone able to read his thoughts, yet, as he grew closer to Tala, he got used to them. Besides, wasn't it normal for best friends to do these kinds of things?

He was yanked out of his thoughts as Tyson ran up to him and pulled him off towards the buffet.

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"So Tala," Robert said, appearing with Spencer next to the aforementioned blader, "When are you going to tell him?"

"About the same time that you and Spencer finally admit that you love each other."

Robert chuckled; the redhead had so much to learn, "Spencer, love you."

Spencer grinned seeing Robert's game, "Love you too." They kissed chastely and Tala became furious.

"Look's like you have to go tell him now Tal."

"Yes, do tell him. While you're at it, why don't you save him from the uncouth dragon?"

Tala sighed, but nevertheless stormed off in Brooklyn's direction; he was never one to back down on a challenge.

"So Robert, how long do you think it'll take him to realize that we've been unofficially together for 6 months?"

"Let's hope never."

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Brooklyn's face lit up as he saw Tala striding towards him. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy talking to Tyson, but he could only stand the dragon in small doses. Besides, he'd rather talk to his best friend.

"Brooklyn, come here," Tala proceeded to grab the 'blader's arm and drag him towards the empty kitchen.

"So, what's up Tala?"

"Take a seat Brooklyn; I need to talk to you." The lighter haired boy sat down as asked, curious as to what his best friend wanted.

"So, as you know, we've been getting really close lately, and Ian's moving out to live with Kevin soon, and I'm pretty sure that Robert is going to move in with Spencer."

"Really? That's great! I've always thought that they made a cute couple."

Tala raised an eyebrow, "But, they just got together…"

"You're kidding me right? Robert and Spencer have been together for ages."

"Oh," Tala paused thinking of a plan, but realized that he needed to continue talking to Brooklyn, " Anyways, we'll have an extra room open, and we'll already be helping Robert move in; I was wondering if you wanted to move in?"

Brooklyn's eyes widened at the prospect; he'd be able to hang out with his best friends every day instead of hanging around in his apartment, alone. "Of course! I'd love to Tal!"

Tala grinned, "Really? That means you can help me fix up Kai and Rei too!"

Brooklyn beamed and gave Tala a quick hug, before bounding off towards the party with Tala in tow.

Tala smiled; he had been right, it was a great night.

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(1) I thought I'd twist that line from American Pie (which I also don't own)

So, that's all for now. I hope you liked it. I tried to emphasize Brooklyn's view of Tala as a best friend.

If all goes as planned, the next chapter should be up in a couple days.

Reviews would be awesome


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